Trailing in their Island Games opener against new-boys Atletico Ottawa, York9 FC boss Jimmy Brennan turned to his bench early in the second half.

Lowell Wright was brought in along with fellow teen Max Ferrari and, within minutes, the pair combined brilliantly to cut the deficit.

Ferrari attacked the space on the right side, slaloming inside one challenge before expertly teeing up Wright for the composed finish from close range. On his senior professional debut, the 16-year-old had found the net.

Moments later, the team equalised through Joseph Di Chiara’s penalty and a 2-2 result was ensured.

In the immediate aftermath, much was made of the impact of the side’s underage players and particularly Wright’s substantial contribution.

“It really does mean a lot to me,” he said.

“Growing up you always want to be a pro and score that first goal. So, it’s an early birthday present with me turning 17 next week. You could feel the energy coming up and it really uplifted us”.

Six of the York9 squad for The Island Games are under the age of 20, with Saturday’s draw also seeing a notable substitute appearance from Ijah Halley – another youngster.

“It feels good knowing that Jim trusts us to come in and bring energy to the team, it means a lot that we’re an important part of the group,” Wright said.

“It gives us more confidence as youngsters coming up, having just signed for the club and trying to get our feet wet. It’s a good feeling to know Jim will put us in if he needs us. When he brought us to the club, he told us, ‘Never feel afraid’. We’re young but there’s a reason we’re here on the team. We know how to compete with everybody. It feels great to come on and score and help the team but it didn’t feel out of the ordinary. I just did what I had to do”.

Brennan has spoken enthusiastically about the collection of underage talent at his disposal and the importance of the 23-player group in a jam-packed tournament.

“This is what this league is about, giving these kids these opportunities,” he said ahead of the clash with Atleti.

“We’ve been absolutely delighted with our young guys. They’ve got their heads on their shoulders, there’s no egos with them, there’s no bad attitudes, they know they want to be pro footballers”.

But after making a splash and drawing plenty of attention, Wright knows the hard work starts now.

“Competition is really tough”, he said.

“Every day in training you’ve got to work hard. You always have to earn your spot on this team. You can’t slack off”.